Woodstock nation lands in Jerusalem

July 16, 2011 - 9:03 PM by

Some of the contestants in the 'best dressed hippie' contest at the Woodstock Revival in Jerusalem. (Geoff Clein)

One of the highlights for the English speaking community in Jerusalem, or anyone else who loves the music of the 1960s, is the Woodstock Revival show that has taken place for three years now.

It brings out a mixture of old hippies, middle-aged Jerusalemites of all religious and social backgrounds, teenagers – mostly the children of Anglo olim who were exposed to the songs of the Woodstock era as young children – and a groundswell of young, native born Israelis who are also captivated by those sounds.

Thursday night’s six-hour show may have been the best of the bunch so far. The ambience, with lots of blankets spread out, Jems beer on tap, lots of crafts booths, juggling and a ‘best hippie’ contest, provided the perfect backdrop for the music.

There were excellent sets by young, Israeli acts like Natan Galili doing acoustic Dylan and Pritzat Disc channeling the lean, mean Led Zeppelin years. Galili also joined the Crosby, Stills and Nash tribute band Long Time Gone, as this year they tackled the packed catalogue of Creedence Clearwater Revival, nailing such classics as “Wrote A Song” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and capturing the swampy essence of “Green River.”

For many the highlight of the evening came next with the return of local Anglo legend Libby to the Israeli stage after many years abroad. With her band The Flash, she lit up the stage with her ‘star’ persona and spirited versions of classics by The Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin.

A truly emotional moment occurred when she called up her many friends from the past for a group version of “With a Little Help From my Friends.” It helped wash away the slightly creepy sensation of the tight-shorted grandma undulating suggestively one moment and then introducing her grandchildren the next.

The final acts brought the level of professionalism up to overdrive with Yael Deckelbaum mesmerizing the crowd with her versions of Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin tunes. She then brought out Israel’s top jam band, Tree, for a dreamy version of “Woodstock” and a raucous cover of “Piece of My Heart.”

Tree then closed the show on their own with an incendiary set of Grateful Dead tunes, heavy on the acid rock of San Francisco band’s early days, especially an explosive, frenetic version of “The Other One” that may have had old-timers experiencing flashbacks.

The organizers of the show, which benefits American Football in Israel, promised that the Woodstock Revival is now an annual event. And for those of us who look forward to it each year, that’s music to our ears.

Here’s a sample of what you missed – Deckelbaum and Tree creating magic.

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Tags: • Category: A New Reality, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

Comments

One Comment on Woodstock nation lands in Jerusalem

  1. Danny Gewirtz on Sun, Jul 17th 2011 11:28 AM

    2. I am one of the organizers of the revival concert. thanks for the positive review and glad you had a good time. do you have any additional videos to post? looking for a Libby clip. many thanks again. next time, call us before for a comp ticket!

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